Capcom's Resident Evil series has seemed to be in a state of flux over the last few years. After the release of the underwhelming Resident Evil 5 in 2009, the company has released a small selection of differently-styled RE titles such as Resident Evil 3D: The Mercenaries on the 3DS and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City -- both of which were received with mixed reviews. The company, however, insists on trucking onward with another core Resident Evil title with Resident Evil 6, and a Capcom spokesman says it will be "the blockbuster dramatic horror experience of 2012".

That is quite a bold statement, especially considering the expectations that a game series such as Resident Evil has set for itself over the years. Still, there is a possibility that the spokesman could be correct. After all, the game is extremely good looking and controls are just easy enough to pick up with little-to-no experience yet complicated enough that they probably won't bore experienced RE players. Furthermore, the game will be giving players three different ways to play depending on what kind of RE experience players prefer.

"If you like RE5 style gameplay, Chris [Redfield] is going to be your guy and is going to be the one you're gonna want to play first," Capcom's Mike Lunn explained. "It's more over the top RE5 style action -- running and gunning."

Fans of older Resident Evil titles have the option of playing as Leon S. Kennedy will provide a more psychological horror experience complete with dark and cramped corridors. There is also the option of playing as Jake Muller, son of former antagonist Albert Wesker, who provides for an experience best described as a mesh of Redfield and Kennedy.

Regardless of how the game is played, though, the overarching goal is the same: prevent the probable extinction of mankind due to bioterrorism. Redfield's story takes players to a fictional Chinese metropolis dealing with the threat of a bioterror attack. Kennedy is faced with the consequences of the President deciding to publicly reveal the truth behind Umbrella Corporation's 1998 biological attack on Raccoon City. Muller's story takes players to Eastern Europe with Jake on the run from authorities during a biological attack in that part of the world. In short, Resident Evil 6 sees bioterrorism as a problem pretty much everywhere (politically speaking, it's probably right).

Resident Evil 6 is expected to hit the market on October 2nd, 2012, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Lunn says a version for PC is also in the works and will be released a few months thereafter, though an exact date has yet to be announced.